Quick RWA Yay

I know, I know, Rooferauthor has been bad, but seriously, I haven't been able to find a block of time to play with the puter at all since RWA started. It takes half-an-hour to an hour to get back to the room (bumping into buddies on the way and then waiting for the elevators) and by the time I get back there, it's time to be off somewhere again!

But I wanted to tell you about a special encounter that put a big smile on my face since last night. At the big RWA signing, I approached the Goddess, the Queen, the One Whom I Worship, Linda Howard. I wanted to say "hi" and mention about my friend, Maria, who had just met her on a previous signing. It's always such a pleasure to listen to Linda's Southern accent and laugh.

When she was ready to sign a book for me, I presented my badge so she would know how to spell my name and she said, "You're Gennita Low?"

I nodded and smiled, "Yes," thinking Maria must have told her some silly story about me.

Linda gave me a big smile and exclaimed, "I love your books!"

See my jaw. See jaw fall on floor. No longer there. Still looking for it. I was speechless. Linda Howard read my books! And loved them! SQUEEEEEEEeeeee.

I'm not sure what I mumbled after that. I must have looked like some dazed fool standing there going, "thank you, thank you, thank you!" Yikes.

I've had this big smile on my face since the signing last night. Big, big, BIG smile. This morning I woke up all my roommates by yelling out, "LINDA HOWARD SAID SHE LOVED MY BOOKS, BY GOD!"

I'm sure my roommates are getting tired of the grin.

Got to go. Lunch and keynote speaker is...Linda Howard! I promise pictures of signings and more author talk later. BTW, you can see how fair she is compared to me in the pic above!

Bear with me while I learn. The first button likes the POST. The second button likes the BLOG site. Please help me by "liking" me. Thanks!
NO NEED TO CLICK TILL I TELL YA: RESERVED FOR NOT SAFE FOR WORK STUFF

Post #2: Half-Year Reward!

I've been good for 12 months. Other than travel expenses, I haven't spent any of my savings on any pretty, shiny, IWANT-IWANT! things.

I released a book, just as I told myself I would. I've suffered through 6 months of compound and commute hell at the Other Job. I found a publisher I like who also loves my Virtual Series. I edited and edited while being miserable with the commute hell. I quit that job so I could finish editing and getting back to being Happy GLow. I feel happy again.

So, Happy Glow went shopping. Yesterday, books. Today, yes, the long-coveted ASUS notebook, weighing in at 2.5 lbs and costing less than $300. Yes, I shall not be denied. It is mine. No more 150lb laptop! Happy Glow and her make-up case-sized ASUS are now ready for RWA.

One day, maybe in another six months, the Other Coveted IWANT-IWANT! shiny thing--the I-phone. But only if I've been good ;-).

Bear with me while I learn. The first button likes the POST. The second button likes the BLOG site. Please help me by "liking" me. Thanks!
NO NEED TO CLICK TILL I TELL YA: RESERVED FOR NOT SAFE FOR WORK STUFF

Half Year Mark Already!

Holy cowabunga, what happened to the time?! Did you accomplish your half-year mark goal(s)?

So far, I haven't done too badly:

1) I released a book, albeit through myself
2) I found a publisher who loves Virtually Hers and Virtually One
3) Virtually Hers is coming out THIS YEAR, e-book format in early Oct.

I didn't read as many books as I wanted to, but I reread a bunch of goodies.

The best book, for me, at this mid-point is Illona Andrews' MAGIC STRIKES, hands down. I just love Curran and the growing relationship between Kate and him. And the fabulous worldbuilding!

I also highly recommend Patricia Briggs' BONE CROSSED, fourth in the Mercedes series. These stories are getting soooo good, but this book is in hard cover and I can't afford any this year. Fortunately, I received this for Valentine's Day ;-).

On my first day after VHERS edits, I went to the bookstore to reward myself. I was sooo happy to find Marjorie Liu's Darkness Calls, the second book in her Maxine Kiss urban fantasy series. I've been waiting for this book because I wanted to read more about Maxine and Grant. For those who want to read an urban fantasy without werewolves and shapeshifting animals, I recommend this series. It features a demon huntress with very unusual tattoos/protectors. Book One wasn't heavy on the relationship stuff, but I trust Marjorie to give me more ;-).

What about your recommended Midyear Best Book? What are you reading right now?

Bear with me while I learn. The first button likes the POST. The second button likes the BLOG site. Please help me by "liking" me. Thanks!
NO NEED TO CLICK TILL I TELL YA: RESERVED FOR NOT SAFE FOR WORK STUFF

What Did You Get?

...for Valentine's Day?

Soooo happy with my mate ;-).

I've been looking at the book longingly at Amazon's but have resigned myself to the fact that I probably wouldn't be reading it till it comes out in paperback, which is the only way I can afford my reading expenses right now.

Then, at my signing, guess what arrived in a nice pretty heart-shaped box with a bow? ;-) I thought, chocolate, but it's Patricia Briggs' BONE CROSSED! You should have heard my squeee of delight. Ah, the perfect gift to capture a romance reader!

My signing went quite well too. There was a steady stream of customers looking for weekend reading and romantic gifts. The UBS owner put me next to her erotica section, which was sweet, because there were many ladies wandering there and they stopped to browse my books and talked to me. Some of them bought my older books to try out and I sold a number of Big Bad Wolfs too.

So, all in all, it was mostly a fantastic day (with only one worrisome news about my furbaby from my vet).

I'll update y'all on the BBW weekly sales count in another post tonight.

Hope your Valentine's Weekend was fun too. Did you get a good present?

Bear with me while I learn. The first button likes the POST. The second button likes the BLOG site. Please help me by "liking" me. Thanks!
NO NEED TO CLICK TILL I TELL YA: RESERVED FOR NOT SAFE FOR WORK STUFF

Lounging Around

No, didn't do any hot air ballooning today. Dawn was so freaking crazy cold! I couldn't believe how nasty it was. Can you imagine how much colder it would be floating up there? Brrr. So we snuggled deeper inside our blankets and fell right back to sleep, LOL.

"Not for a giant bag of hot air," he whispered in my ear. "Dawn sucks. Ignore and go back to bed."

Totally agreed. A giant bag of hot air and cold, blustery dawn just weren't appealing when one is warm and toasty, so I obediently went back to lalaland. My mom used to call me Sleeping Beauty because I could sleep the morning away. I'm more a sunset sort of girl, I guess.

What is your internal clock like? In sync with normal time or not?

***************

My assistant surprised me by setting up a Facebook page for me! So now that she's given me the reins, come play? Friend me? It has a neat "what I'm up to now" Twitter feature. Everyone is updating all day. Wow. Do you guys like Facebook better than MySpace?

***************

BBW sales update. I sold 50 books this week. Thank you, everyone, for spreading the word around that BBW is available at Amazon or buying an extra to give to your local UBS. I've received some emails from surprised booksellers because of your generosity, telling me they didn't know I have a new book. I've set up a Paypal account for to handle bulk and overseas orders. Don't I sound like I have a business going on now? :::grin:::

Lastly, lots of emails asking about that novella idea, asking whether it would be $11, etc. No, I base the price of the book with how much it'd cost me with the printing and cover pic costs, etc. A shorter book, like a novella, would probably run closer to $8. Can't say since I haven't checked that yet. Boy, you guys have been great with the suggestions ;-). Steve and Marlena's honeymoon, someone emailed. Nikki's pregnancy and Rick's possessiveness, another chimed in. Hawk giving Jazz a hard time when he found out how mad Jazz was when Vivi finally revealed her trickery. These are great ideas! Keep them coming, here on the blog or through email.

Bear with me while I learn. The first button likes the POST. The second button likes the BLOG site. Please help me by "liking" me. Thanks!
NO NEED TO CLICK TILL I TELL YA: RESERVED FOR NOT SAFE FOR WORK STUFF

RT Recap: Day Two

I awoke on Day Two with the taste of plasterboard in my mouth. It's something I'm familiar with AT A JOBSITE, not in a hotel, gah. I listened to my roomies move around the room before forcing myself to get up. I don't do mornings well.

Gargling helped get rid of that awful taste. Then I looked at the program to see what's happening downstairs.

That chart in the middle of the program? The. Most. Awful. Mess. Evah.



For one thing, the days didn't go consecutively! I had a tough time figuring what went where during which hour, and the schedule for Saturday was sort of merged with Friday's, so I was quite confused, and it wasn't even 10am yet. So I did what an author would do.

I went down to the bar.

Ah. Nothing like an early morning pick-me-up to figure out where to go next. I went to Club RT and hung out there a bit to meet with friends and fans. It was a fun thing for me because I registered late and many people didn't know that I was coming, so I was like a surprise to those milling around.

"But you're not in the program!"
"I didn't know you were here!"
"No, you aren't Gennita Low!"

Heehee. I love making surprise entrances.

If you read my earlier posts, lunch featured a staged hanging. It was actually part of a reading and skit of the first chapter of Helen Rosburg's book, Blaze of Lightning, Roar of Thunder. It was like dinner theatre, only that it was lunch. And it was also the beginning of experiencing the PA system of Death.

I had to leave early because of an appointment, mainly with a group of fantastic authors that included Anya Bast (and her husband, James, and beautiful baby), Lauren Dane, Megan Hart, and Jeri Smith-Ready. Yes, I ate another meal ;-), at Palamino's, which was just across the street from the Hilton Ghetto. Lots of mirth and happy clanking of glasses. Lots of talk about books and favorite themes. Lots of interesting gossip about the bithnez. And I'm so going to one day imitate Lauren's very funny act. It's a mix of Dr. Seuss and 1950s movies upper-class drawl (just imagine Eva Gardner holding a glass of champagne and looking down her nose and going "dah-link") and a mezzo-soprano singsong:

"I will NOT write brothers in bed TOgethah. No, no, NOooo. I will NOT have InCESt. I will NOT have that Mess. I will NOt, no...never, ever, not for meee, it's not SExee, not at all, no, no, nononononoNO! Now BRING me my HOOKah!"

Heehee. You just have to see it to enjoy the act. Lauren is so going to kick my ass when she reads this.

Later that day, I went to a panel with three very different and prolific authors, Barry Eisler, Heather Graham and Alexandra Sokoloff called Die For Me. These authors showed us all the different ways to write about killers and killing. It was quite a fun session, especially when Barry, a martial arts expert, stood up and demonstrated how to kick a door down. Wooh baby. That was hot. I assure you all the attending ladies approved of the technique.

He then sat down, a bit embarrassed, and added, "of course, writing about killing is like writing about brain surgery--one isn't really a killer or a brain surgeon." To which, some smartass chica named Gennita chimed in, "Unless, of course, you're staying at the Holiday Inn." I don't know why I did that. It just came out....

Later that evening was the Underwater Faerie Ball. I wore a gown the color of the ocean, and brought along a cape in case the waters got cold.

Who did I spy first?


It was the tall nymph, Marjorie Liu. She just arrived earlier that day, so her human glamor still clung to her.


The ballroom decor was absolutely beautiful, with appropriate lighting. It felt like we were all moving in an underwater realm. Especially when all around, we saw:


mischievous sprites,


fairy queens and love slave (heh, that's just Sly, a good friend)

and here's Queen Christine Feehan herself, holding court. She hosted a speakeasy after the Ball. Many Australian friends didn't understand what a speakeasy was and I had to explain about illegal gambling and drinking during the 20s. She didn't get the connection with the fairy ball, so I told her magical beings love to gamble and carouse, LOL.

Here's me with one of the magical beings. Damn, on second look at the pic, I'm going to have to contact Marianne Mancusi and Liz Maverick to check this out. MY BOOBAH HAS ALSO BEEN GRAZED! Is this a male thang? See Liz's similar experience at http://www.rebelsofromance.com/.

Here's another one of my favorite magical beings, the immortal John de Salvo. He came over while the other guys were gambling and charmed my cape off.

Maybe it was the magic potion, courtesy of Queen Feehan:

CF H2O brew, the stuff that makes a night powerfully magical.

The night ended with a lovely chat with Hank, his companion, and Kayla Perrin, who tried to spoil it by telling everyone I was an evil shapeshifter. She chased away Barry Eisler (check out his live blogging on the RT forum) by boa-ing him to death. Wait till I get her to send me the pic. Barry will never live this down. I'll have to demonstrate this boa-ing technique the next time he's in a "murder" panel.

Bedtime before 3am....(I'll update this post as soon as I get more photos from friends)

Bear with me while I learn. The first button likes the POST. The second button likes the BLOG site. Please help me by "liking" me. Thanks!
NO NEED TO CLICK TILL I TELL YA: RESERVED FOR NOT SAFE FOR WORK STUFF